Downloadable Services

Since the beginning of the internet, the downloading of services and information has increased in popularity. This also means that real life products are decreasing in sales. An example of this would be music downloading and CD sales (this news article has more information about the increase of downloading: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16382648 ). There are also different types of downloads including entertainment and information downloading.

Companies such as HMV faced a decrease in sales because of the popularity of online downloading

Entertainment downloads

The most popular form of downloading is music downloading. This involves a user transferring music files to their IPod or phone. These downloads are found on special music sites such as ITunes and Amazon MP3. Because of these sites, the user can listen to almost any song anywhere for a small price per song. However, this also means that illegal music downloading is a very common problem today. To overcome that problem, anti-piracy laws have laws have been passed and various illegal sites such as LimeWire has been shut down.

Movie downloads are also popular with users. Similar to music downloading, movie download sites allow users to watch movies of their choice online. These websites include Lovefilm and Netflix, both of which have increased in popularity along with movie downloading in general. However, there are also forms of movie piracy. This also means that cinemas are losing money because some users are watching illegally downloaded movies instead. Cinema companies have also reacted to the problem of piracy by making short anti-piracy films as well as other actions involved in discouraging piracy.

A screenshot of an anti-piracy advert on YouTube. The advert features ‘the last cinema’ in a world where movie piracy has taken over.

Another form of downloading is game downloading. With game downloading, online games can be installed onto a user’s computer. Various apps are also available to download onto a smartphone. This allows users to choose from many different games that can be played at any time. Unfortunately, piracy also affects downloadable games as well meaning that many game companies have lost money from people using the ‘P2P’ piracy network. However, this is also illegal and users can be arrested for being involved in piracy.

The downloadable E-book has also increased in popularity recently. However, early forms of the E-book and the E-reader date back to the 1960’s. Since then, the E-book and E-reader have been developed to make around $450 million this year alone. Amazon have also taken advantage of E-book popularity to create the Kindle (Amazon’s own E-reader). This proved to be a success as the Kindle is top of the most popular E-reader. Now, a user can download E-books onto their E-reader in a similar way to Apple’s ITunes’ service. However, one disadvantage of the E-book would the decrease in paperback/hardback book sales. This is because E-books are more convenient for many people.

An example of an E-book on a Kindle E-reader

Information Downloads

Newspapers and magazines are both popular forms of information the many people buy in paper (real life) form. With the advance in technology today, newspapers and magazines have also been made in electronic form. There are two types of electronic newspapers and magazines available. Firstly, downloadable apps for newspaper/magazine companies allow users to view the latest issues on their smartphones. Secondly, the E-reader has been designed to contain newspaper/magazine content for users to read. Both forms allow users to view their favourite newspaper/magazine more conveniently using modern technology.

Because of the advance in technology, software for computers can also be purchased and downloaded from online stores. This is also convenient for users as they can protect their computer without buying software from a real life store. However, there is also the significant disadvantage of viruses and malware. Unsafe websites could mean that malware could be installed onto a computer if the user is not careful.

Maps and directions have also become available online recently. Programs such as Google Maps allow users to download maps and direction services onto their smartphone or even satnav. This allows users to find directions and locations wherever they are. There are also other advantages such as the ability to update and direction services. However, there are disadvantages such as the recent iOS 6 maps errors.

The faults with Apple’s iSO 6 maps caused many users to complain. Apple have since apologised for the faults.

Smartphone downloading (apps)

The increase in Smartphone popularity has also had an effect on download activity. Many downloads are in the form of apps which are available for smartphones. Around one million apps in totals have been made for just about anything a user could want. Users can download apps for a cheap price and they can use these apps anywhere for anything they would need.  For example, a person could use a news app to catch up with recent news.

Angry birds is one of the most popular gaming apps available for downloading on a smartphone

Advantages and disadvantages

One advantage of downloading services would be the speed of downloading. With modern technology, downloading information is very quick. This would therefore be more convenient and easier for user that would often be downloading services either on their computer or smartphone. The convenience of downloading can also be another advantage of downloadable services. This would mean that downloading can be more useful than using other forms of services.

However, there are also disadvantages of downloadable services as well. One of these disadvantages would be the busyness of the broadband services. When many users across the world are on the internet at once, the broadband service get slower. This is because the broadband service has to serve all the users at the same time. This can also be annoying for many users as they become impatient. There is also the threat of viruses when downloading content from the internet. If malware or viruses are downloaded onto the computer, then the computer system can be corrupted therefore, causing the user many problems.